Misfortune Never Comes Alone (1903) User Reviews

Another good one from Melies.

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 26 May 2009]

Another lively and inventive little film from French wizard Georges Melies which shows that his talents weren't limited to special effects extravaganzas. The story is filled with slapstick comedy involving, by its' final scene, around a dozen characters. It's very well done with something going on in various parts of the screen at all times so that, despite it being a one-scene film, you need to watch it a couple of times to catch everything that happens. Actually, it isn't quite one scene: there is a hidden cut shortly after three men have climbed onto a narrow veranda to enter an upper storey window. The veranda breaks under their weight but, once they are all inside the building, is suddenly intact again.

Un Soldat S'Arrose

[boblipton · 7/10 · 14 March 2008]

As Melies ramped up production to compete with Gaumont and Pathe, he added to his bread and butter -- which were the amazing trick and magic films he is still remembered for -- into the occasional slapstick. Here, he produces a superior effort, that still stands up today, thanks to his sense of story, timing and his set design. In an era when one joke, repeated until the camera ran out of film was standard, this one has several.

This is one of the many previously lost or infrequently seen Melies pictures that have been made available by Serge Bromberg, David Shepherd and a myriad of other hands in the newly issued DVD set GEORGES MELIES: FIRST WIZARD OF CINEMA. Required viewing for anyone interested in the history of movies ..... and a lot of fun.

Choreographed Chaos

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 13 November 2017]

There is non-stop action in front of a building in a city. It involves a few cases of carelessness that morph into greater and greater chaotic movement. All the people in the street (and in the building) are affected by the action. There are police and soldiers and people trying to work. On and on. There are also fire hoses that are used to their full effect.

Don't fall asleep while on guard duty!

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 9 September 2020]

In "Misfortune Never Comes Alone", a soldier is standing on guard. However, he seeon falls asleep and soon a joker comes along and takes the man's gun...replacing with with a hose with a sprinkler head attached. Soon he turns on the water and all sort of chaos results...probably TOO much.

This is a cute idea but like so many early comedies, this is about as subtle as bringing a stripper to a Baptist cookout! It's way, way overdone and lacks subtlety and is like an early form of slapstick. Funny but it would have been far funnier had the reaction to the water been halfway subtle! Not one of Méliès' better comedies.

Misfortune Never Comes Alone

[Michael_Elliott · 3 April 2008]

Misfortune Never Comes Alone (1903)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

aka Un Malheur N'arrive Jamaisseul

Fun comedy from Melies has a soldier standing guard over a door but when he falls asleep on the job another man comes along and decides to play a trick on him by removing his gun and putting a water hose in his hands instead. There's some nice slapstick going on here, which wasn't seen too much in these early days. Overall the film doesn't quite work because there aren't enough laughs but Melies eye for comedy is certainly better here than in some of his previous comedies. The best scene has a big man getting sprayed by the hose only to get revenge by blasting anyone he can see.